Moonda psychologist: Spoiling led to murder

By: Bill Vidonic

Tuesday

Jul 17, 2007 at 12:01 AM

AKRON, Ohio - Donna Moonda has a personality disorder because she was spoiled as a child and that disorder eventually led to the killing of her husband, a forensic psychologist testified in federal court Tuesday.

Because of the dependent personality disorder and fearing that her marriage was collapsing, Moonda didn't know how to say no to Damian Bradford, who she believed was the only man left in her life, psychologist Robert Kaplan said.

"She knew Damian loved money. She knew she had to get money to keep him happy," Kaplan said. "She knew it was wrong, but her judgment was off."

Kaplan also said that Moonda told him she couldn't believe that Bradford shot her husband, Dr. Gulam Moonda - though she eventually accepted that fact - and, "She hates Mr. Bradford for killing her husband."

In the final day of testimony in the Mercer County woman's federal death penalty sentencing phase, Moonda, 48, of Hermitage, did not take the witness stand, meaning the jury will never hear from her directly. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating today, after closing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Kaplan - who said he examined Moonda twice, studied her medical records and talked to family members - painted a picture of a deeply troubled woman who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, and is experiencing flashbacks of her husband's shooting along the Ohio Turnpike on May 13, 2005.

While acknowledging his belief that she was involved in the killing, Kaplan said, "The death of her husband was a great loss. I don't think she realized how much she would lose when he died. Then, she realized, 'Oh my gosh. What did I do?' "

In a paradoxical statement, Kaplan said Donna Moonda's troubles began, in essence, because of a happy childhood.

Dorothy Smouse described her daughter as a "mama's girl," her father treated her and her three sisters as princesses, Kaplan said, and Donna "never wanted to disappoint him." Donna Moonda eventually saw the doting relationship between her parents as the kind she wanted, Kaplan said.

But, beginning with her father, Kaplan said, Donna developed a personality disorder in which she put her own needs, wants and values aside in order to please others, and that left her easily manipulated and in an extremely vulnerable position.

"She has a lot of difficulty displeasing other people," Kaplan said.

Life with Gulam

Gulam Moonda met the former Donna Smouse when she was 18, and the two dated about 13 years before they married in 1990.

Kaplan repeated some of Dorothy Smouse's testimony Monday, in which she said Gulam Moonda picked out clothing for his wife, decided what restaurants they would go to, when they would eat and where people would sit.

Kaplan said Donna Moonda told him that her husband could get angry, that she lost touch with friends of which he did not approve and bowed to his wishes because, "He was someone you didn't say no to."

But family members said Gulam Moonda was good to her family, Kaplan said, and "He loved to spoil (Donna) and she loved to be spoiled."

Kaplan said Moonda told him she always suspected her husband was having affairs before and after they married, but when she asked him about it, he threatened not to marry her. Kaplan said Moonda told him that Gulam Moonda's girlfriends had been to the couple's Hermitage home and had called there as well.

When he asked Donna Moonda why she would tolerate her husband's infidelity, Moonda responded, "You just get immune to it. You have to overlook things when it's good in other ways," Kaplan testified.

Kaplan said that other than Donna Moonda's statement, though, he had no evidence to show that Gulam Moonda was unfaithful.

Easing the pain

In 1998, Donna Moonda's father, Ross Smouse, died from a cerebral hemorrhage, and Moonda took his death hardest. She sought therapy but eventually turned to drugs, Kaplan said.

The nurse anesthetist also began stealing fentanyl from Sharon Regional Health System, where she worked, and was caught in 1999, Kaplan said. She underwent drug screening and counseling and stayed off drugs for a while, he said.

After her husband had his knees replaced in 2001 and 2002, Kaplan said, Moonda said the couple's sex life slowed, and fearing her marriage was breaking apart, she turned back to fentanyl in 2003. She was caught stealing the drug again in 2004 and was eventually sentenced to probation.

As part of her probation, she was sent to Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Center Township, and that's where she met Bradford, now 26, formerly of Center.

Life with Damian

Kaplan said Moonda told Gateway employees she had a good marriage and no emotional problems, but staff there believed she was in denial.

When she first met Bradford, she enjoyed his attention, Kaplan said. He was impressed with her Mercedes, and told her he was concerned for his own sobriety because his girlfriend was using drugs.

By August 2004, the relationship between Moonda and Bradford had turned physical, Kaplan said, and the following month, Bradford began asking Moonda for money, jewelry, clothes, which she eagerly provided.

Moonda hoped for an exclusive relationship, but she continued dating Bradford even when she learned he was still seeing another woman, Kaplan said.

Moonda also told Kaplan that Bradford probably was using the money she was giving him for drugs, instead of saving it as she had instructed.

Kaplan said Moonda told him that when her husband learned of her affair in December 2004, they agreed to divorce, but not until July 2005, so that Gulam Moonda's nephew Faroq Moonda could pass his medical boards without the stress of his beloved uncle's marital woes.

In earlier court testimony, Bradford said Donna Moonda told him her husband had offered a $1 million divorce settlement, but she refused, saying she "wanted what was coming to her."

Aftermath

After her husband's killing, Moonda was hospitalized for treatment of depression and anxiety, and her attorney feared she was suicidal, Kaplan said.

Kaplan said he diagnosed Moonda with post-traumatic stress disorder, and she said she suffers from flashbacks of her husband's bloody face as she performed CPR on him along the Ohio Turnpike.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Barr hinted that maybe Moonda had lied about the flashbacks, the depression, other details of her life, to build a case that she had nothing to do with the shooting.

"Nobody's that good," Kaplan said, insisting the physical manifestations are genuine, though admitting he hadn't gotten independent corroboration for some of what Moonda told him.

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